Lending a Bit of Color

  The weather has taken a turn toward the chilly side tonight.  The Bayou is expected to feel nigh on freezing air by morning so any trip to the pier had better see me bundled up good and proper.  Then again...I may just decide that the warm blankets are a safe bet and stay huddled beneath them until the sun is well in the sky.  Mark has stated that he wants to go fishing in the morning so that cozy idea of blankets may just not come true.  Still, a hike down the pier to view the sunrise always gets my day started off on the right direction.  After viewing the peaceful setting, I am eager to get started on whatever projects are at hand.  Currently, the project is a bunch of gourds that need to be transformed into bowls,  These gourds all need to be painted. A bit of bright color always adds so much to an otherwise bland look.

  Speaking of bright colors, our minimal bit of fall-like colors have faded and gone the wayside.  Now we are set of the drab browns and greys of winter.  It is rare to find much in the way of bright hues during the colder months so I take what I can find.  One sure provider is that sun whether it be rising or setting.  The sky is ablaze with the brilliance but the colors are not limited to just that.  Down near the pier, there are several Sea Myrtle or Groundsel bushes.  During the summer, the bush is covered with sort of nondescript, white blossoms but come fall, those blooms give way to fluffy, white seeds. These seeds are actually more showy than the flowers themselves.  They add a bit of beauty to the marsh just as they are but let the rays of the early morning sun hit them and they are phenomenally beautiful.  The sunrise lends a bit of its color to the bush causing the seeds to appear almost red.  This is just another reason that I do like to rise before dawn.

  Perhaps, I will venture down the hillside in the morning...freezing weather or not.  I may just be surprised with another fine discovery such as the Sea Myrtle in its full glory.  

Silvery Clouds

  Mark can be thankful that he is out of town at the moment.  The Sea Myrtle bush is sending up clouds of seeds with the stiff northerly winds that we are feeling these past few days.  He would be sneezing his head off with each pass through the front yard or trek down the pier.  These bushes flank the first part of the pier making a nice passageway most of the summer but come fall, watch out!  The seeds float on the wind much like the familiar dandelion puffs.  Each seed is an allergen causing a fit of sneezing for those affected by them.  Mark occasionally does find some plant, either flowering or seeding, that wreaks havoc on his sinuses.  For some strange reason, I have been fortunate enough to be immune from the effects of the same plants.  (This is one of those "knock on wood" instances, though, as I sure hope I never have that problem!  As much as I wander about the hillside, if allergic, I would be sneezing my head slap off!)

  The Sea Myrtle is one of those plants that goes by a number of names.  It is a small shrub that is often called Consumption Weed, Groundsel, Salt Bush and Silverling.  Sea Myrtle and Salt Bush are names deriving from the fact that it is a coastal plant.  It can survive in brackish waters and marshes. Silverling is a name coming from when the female plant is covered with its white blooms and then it fluffy, white seeds.  At that time, the bush has a shiny, silvery look to it.  Consumption Weed is an old common name given to the bush since it was once used in treating consumption (Tuberculosis).  (This was not necessarily a good thing as the plant is said to be toxic to humans and animals alike.  Perhaps it did cure the consumption but probably caused a whole host of other problems when doing so.)  The true name is Baccharis or Groundsel.  

  Whatever the shrub is called, I like it.  This time of year is usually a bit void of flowering plants and the Sea Myrtle brightens up the area a bit. Its silvery masses can be seen on all shorelines. The sun glints off the bright white fluff making it appear as if a cloud has softly fallen into the marsh. Then a gust of wind whips through and the cloud gently rises and scatters.  Seeds fly everywhere.  To me, this is a pretty sight although I know that every seed has the potential to sprout and form a new bush. Soon the shoreline will be nothing but Groundsel or Sea Myrtle,  The cloud will spread from one end of the property to the other and Mark will continue to have sneezing fits each October.